The ornate rituals in Westminster Abbey, and Donald Trump’s investigation of President Obama’s birth certificate have something in common, says Heather McRobie: a very pre-modern fixation on blood as a marker of belonging, and heritage as a prerequisite for legitimacy to rule.

In spite of its many weals and woes, life has meaning and purpose expressed through our experience of love and creativity. That is the message of Christmas to humanity, Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams says.